Lasers have long been used to form structures from polymer materials by ablation and fusion. In some cases curable formulations may have been cured by exposure to UV laser beams or by laser induced heating.
Recently, a new laser effect has been reported, laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS). These structures are sub-micrometer sized patterns said to have been first reported in poly(butylene terephthalate) (PET) and polystyrene (PS) at 193 and 248 nm. The patterns that have been reported to date include linear waves, and regular dots, can be produced by exposing a thermoplastic substrate surface to a fluence of polarized light that is below the laser ablation threshold energy fluence.
Articles, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference, describing the LIPSS procedure and the structures obtained include:    T. Lippert and J. T. Dickinson, “Chemical and Spectroscopic Aspects of Polymer Ablation: Special Features and Novel Directions,” Chem. Rev., 2003, 103, 453-485;    W. Y. Y. Wong, T. M. Wong, H. Hiraoka, “Polymer segmental alignment in polarized pulsed laser-induced periodic surface structures,” Appl. Phys. A 65, 519-523 (1997);    M. Csete, S. Hild, A. Plettl, P. Ziemann, Zs. Bor, O. Marti, “The Role of Original Surface Roughness In Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structure Formation Process on Poly-Carbonate Films,” Thin Solid Films, 453-454 (2004) 114-120;    M. Csete, J. Kokavecza, Zs. Bora, O. Martib, “The Existence Of Sub-Micrometer Micromechanical Modulation Generated By Polarized UV Laser Illumination On Polymer Surfaces,” Materials Science and Engineering C 23 (2003) 939-944;    M. Li et al, “Periodic microstructure induced by 532 nm polarized laser illumination on poly(urethane-imide) film: orientation of the azobenzene chromophore,” Applied Surface Science 193 (2002) 46-51: and    R. Kemkemer, et al, “The determination of the morphology of melanocytes by laser-generated periodic surface structures,” Materials Science and Engineering C 23 (2003) 437-440.
Applications of LIPSS techniques that have been mentioned include microelectronic devices and in attaching and orienting chemical or biological objects. The use of LIPSS in medical device structures is not believed to have been reported.